


i do believe in the light

by worthy_of_the_shield



Series: a brave new world [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Female Friendship, Gen, Original Character(s), Parabatai Bond, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 05:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11708067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worthy_of_the_shield/pseuds/worthy_of_the_shield
Summary: Tessa Colombera and Charlie Darkhyde hadn't been back to New York for a full year, since, as everyone knew, whenever you visited the New York Institute, something always happened. However, contact from lifelong friend Isabelle Lightwood drew them back into their friends' lives, as they attempt to aid in the war to bring down Valentine, rescue Jace, save Alec's relationship and, above all, check out Magnus.Charlie always knew it was going to be a bad idea.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> So first off, YES, I know the name Tessa has already been used in the Shadowhunter world, and I am not trying to take away from the character of Tessa Gray at all. Honestly, I had already typed a large portion of this story before I even realised that and by then I had already attached that name to my character. If it helps, Tessa's full name in this story is Contessa.
> 
> Secondly, this story is sort of my attempt to fix and add my take on the show, by adding in two badass female characters from LA. It will follow the series canonically from season two A onwards. I've writing this since 2x01 aired and have been adding more as the episodes came out.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy!

“By the way I need to talk to you.”

"Now?” Charlie growled, ducking as Tessa swung the staff at her.

She ignored her. “Izzy wrote. Said they could use our help.”

“Isabelle Lightwood?” She nodded. “And that’s a good idea because…?”

“Because they do need our help. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve seen them.”

“Whenever we visit New York something bad happens,” Charlie blew a strand of short hair away from her face, leaning against her staff.

“Whenever they visit us something bad happens,” Tessa pointed out. “Look, with Jace missing and Valentine coming back, they need as much support as they can get. Also, she says Alec needs cheering up.”

Charlie winced. “I’m guessing his parabatai bond isn’t doing so well?”

“Izzy said they talked it out, but I don’t know how much better it made things. With Jace gone, it could just get worse. Plus, we need to get a scope on the new girl. We can say we’re there to get intel on the situation, see if we can help out.” Tessa blocked a blow from Charlie.

“Isn’t that why we’re going anyway?”

“Maybe for you, I’m going to check out Alec’s boyfriend.”

Charlie sighed, panting slightly from the exertion. “Alright fine then. To help Alec and Jace. I don’t like the idea of their bond breaking. It may be the only thing holding Jace back from the edge.”

“Great,” Tessa grinned, throwing Charlie her staff and walking past her. “We leave in five minutes.”

“Wait, what?”

“Magnus is making a portal for us.” Tessa explained. 

“Magnus…?”

“Bane.”

“The warlock?”

“Uh huh, Alec’s boyfriend.”

“Alec’s with a downworlder?” Charlie looked shocked. “But Alec is… Alec. He’s all about rules and tradition!”

“Hence why he needs us right now.”

“About that, wasn’t he going to marry that girl from the clave? Lydia?”

“Called it off.” The girls had reached Tessa’s room now, and Charlie was leaning against the door, still looking confused. “Right in the middle of the ceremony too. Magnus walked in and Alec decided ‘screw it’ and made out with him in front of God and everybody.”

“Were his parents there?”

“Yup, and a few Clave members apparently. Quite the scandal.” Tessa pulled two duffel bags from under her bed and threw one to Charlie.

“You packed for me? How long did you know this was happening?”

“About a day.”

“A day? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I figured the longer you had to think about it, the longer you had to talk yourself out of it. We’re going and that’s that.”

Charlie bit her lip. “I don’t like this.”

“You never like any of my plans.”

“Because they always end up with us dying and/or trapped and/or arrested,” Charlie muttered, still gnawing on her lip. Tessa stepped forward and gently ran a finger over it, so she would stop.

“You’ll end up biting it off if you’re not careful. C’mon, Charlie. Trust me. For Alec and Jace, right?”

She softened, running a hand through her hair. “Yeah, yeah, alright then. So where’s is this Magnus meeting us?”

“Right here.” Tessa gave a rather girly squeak and whipped around.

“By the angel, dude. Warn us next time!” Charlie glared at him, placing a hand on Tessa’s shoulder.

The girls surveyed the tall man in front of them. The first word that came to both of their minds was stunning. Eyeshadow, glitter and perfectly styled hair, combined with height, muscles and cheekbones that could cut glass, meant that any other word for beauty was struck from their minds. How anyone could look both feminine and masculine and so undeniably gorgeous and completely pull the whole look off was beyond them.

“I… I…” Tessa stuttered, brain short-circuiting.

“You must be Magnus,” Charlie recovered and held her hand out to the man, using the other to reach over and shut Tessa’s mouth. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

He smiled at them and Tessa felt her heart swoon in her chest and her mouth start to giggle. Charlie gave her a sideways glance that clearly said Get a grip.

“Likewise. I am right in assuming that you two are Charlotte Darkhyde and Contessa Colombera?” He had possibly the nicest smile Tessa had ever seen. His teeth were so white and   
pretty that Charlie squinted instinctively. They all shook hands, pink spots becoming more and more prominent along Tessa’s cheeks.

“I’m Charlie, this is Tessa,” Charlie clarified, giving the latter a little kick in the shin to jolt her from her trance. 

“Alexander has told me so much about both of you. I look forward to getting to know you both,” Magnus turned around to step back through the portal with the girls quickly following. “We must have cocktails back at my place.”

“I like him,” Tessa whispered.

“Evidently,” Charlie whispered back. They step through. When the girls laid eyes on Alec they both saw the same thing. Pain. No matter how many charming smile and insistence on his wellbeing that he may throw at them, they both knew that Alec was hurting. There was a sort of strain in his posture, and although his eyes lit up at the sight of them, there was still the pain. The loss.

“By the Angel, guys!” Alec immediately pulled Tessa in a strong hug, leaning his head on her hair. “Why didn’t you tell me you coming?”

“It’s a surprise,” Izzy laughed, hugging Charlie.

“Definitely that,” she agreed. “I didn’t even know five minutes ago.”

Alec pulled away from Tessa. “What are you…?”

“Came to see if we could lend a hand,” she replied, reaching her hand up to his jaw. “Also, Isabelle sent me a novel, telling me everything that’s gone on in the last few weeks. How could we stay away?”

 

“So how are you doing?” Tessa asked Alec, laying back on his bed while Charlie paced the room. Charlie paced a lot, as evidenced from the faded line across her bedroom where the carpet had worn down.

His eyebrows creased. “I’m fine.”

Both girls gave a small huff of disbelief. “Seriously, I’m fine.”

Charlie actually stopped pacing, crossing her arms. “Don’t lie to us Alec. You haven’t been ‘fine’ in a while.”

Alec sighed and drew his knees up to his chest.

Tessa leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, comfortingly. “It’s OK to be upset about Jace, Alec. And not because you’re gay or in love with him or whatever, but because he’s your parabatai. A lot’s gone down between you two, and it’s fine for you to be angry that he’s not here.”

“I just miss him. Like, really, really miss him,” Alec mumbled into his knees. “It’s not just him… it’s the bond. I miss what we had; I miss the person he was before…” 

“Before Clary?” Tessa guessed.

He nodded. “I know it’s not her fault, but ever since she arrived it’s like… Jace would drop everything for her, with no regard to the rules, the Clave or how it might affect others. All he cared about was her. I know she thinks and Jace probably thinks that I was jealous that they were falling in love and all that… but really, I just hated being second best for him.”

“You’re his parabatai,” Charlie reminds him. “It’s natural to feel that way. And it wasn’t just that she was some girl he was dating, he was choosing her over you. That’s gotta sting Alec.”

“I risked our bond to try and find him, almost got him killed,” Alec continued. “He accused me of doing all that stuff for my family, marrying Lydia because of my feelings and… and maybe he was a little right, but I was doing it for my family, for him in a way. He was doing everything for her. And she was doing everything for her too.”

“Don’t worry,” Tessa reassured him. “It’ll be alright. We’ll get him back, you can perform some lifesaving act for him and he will be so overwhelmed with gratefulness then your bond will just fix itself.”

Alec smirked. “Is that even possible?”

“Anything’s possible,” Tessa grinned back. “And you should probably tell him everything you just told us, ok?” 

“I’m going to head to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a sec.” Charlie left, arms swinging.

After a few seconds Alec said, “She’s not going to the bathroom, is she?”

“Nope.” Tessa closed her eyes and leant her head on his shoulder. “It’s good to see you again.”


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logic and rationality, can lead to pessimism and cynicism, which can lead to insensitivity and sarcasm, which can come across as bitchy. But Tessa knew there was no point in trying to talk to Charlie about it. She wouldn’t change, not for anyone.

Charlie stalked along the corridor, looking around. She came into the central area of the building and scanned it, looking for any sign of a newbie. Then in a training room she saw Isabelle talking to girl with long red hair that Charlie didn’t recognise. She had runes, but some of them looked fresher than others, and the way the girl gripped the staff in her hand told her that she wasn’t as familiar with it as Isabelle was. She walked over.

“Hey, Izzy,” she went for the open, friendly approach.

Isabelle turned and flashed her a smile. All white teeth and charming eyes, she and Alec were more similar than they’re given credit for.

“Charlie! This is-”

“Clarissa Fairchild,” Charlie cut her off. “I heard a lot about you.”

Clary seemed flushed from the attention, and held out her hand politely. “Yeah, probably nothing good.”

Charlie took her hand. “Charlie Darkhyde, LA institute. And don’t worry, I don’t judge people by their heritage, I judge them on whose side they’re on when the bombs start dropping.”

Clary grinned nervously, probably because Charlie was quite intimidating and was staring at her almost patronizingly. 

“You two training?”

“Actually, we were just-”

“Good,” she interrupted brushing past them and taking a staff from the wall. “One on one, Clary?”

“Oh, umm. OK,” she replied, probably more out of politeness than anything.

“Be nice,” Isabelle warned her, before turning and leaving the room.

Charlie surveyed the girl, biting her lip and looking cautious. She started with some basic offense which, thank the angels, Clary could defend quite easily.

“So,” Clary started, trying to make conversation. “You live in LA your whole life?”

“As long as I can remember. I was born in Shanghai, but my parents moved when I was one. You live in New York?” Charlie managed to hook her under the legs and Clary went down landing on her back.

“Yes,” she groaned, hauling herself up. “Just me and my mom. Well, and Luke.”

“Gotta admit, kid. You’re not half bad,” Charlie said, as Clary started to come on stronger. But it didn’t take long before Clary was on the floor again.

“I could say the same about you,” she said as she struggled to her feet again, panting.

“Yeah, well I’ve been doing this for ten years. You’ve been here barely ten days,” Charlie commented, pulling Clary up.

“So,” she started, as she attempted to come on the offence. “You here to see Alec and Izzy?”

“Well, more to just help out generally. What with Jace being taken and Valentine getting the cup. Looks like you guys needed the help. But off the record?” Clary nodded. “To see Alec. And to check out Magnus.”

Clary giggled, dropping her staff for a second, allowing Charlie to floor her again. “You’re getting distracted.”

“Sorry,” she grunted, staying down for a second. “So, how long have you known Alec?”

She grinned, as she often did when she thought of him and Izzy. “I’ve known the Lightwoods for as long as I can remember. Longer than Tessa even.”

“Tessa? That other girl you came with?” Despite her perfectly polite intentions, Charlie couldn’t help but feel annoyed when she referred to Tessa as 'that other girl'. 

“Yes,” she replied shortly. “Come on, demons don’t gossip when they’re fighting you.”

Clary heaved herself back up, stretching her arms and rolling her neck as she did so. 

“So how do you know Tessa?”

Charlie stopped herself from groaning. “Parabatai,” she offered my means of an answer.

“Oh,” recognition flashed in her eyes. “Like Jace and Alec?”

“Uh huh.” Giving up on the sparring, Charlie leant against the staff. “Like Jace and Alec.”

“I was wondering…” Clary bit her lip. Charlie could see why Tessa found it annoying now.

“Yes?”

“What… what’s it like? Having a parabatai bond, I mean.” Charlie frowned, honestly not wanting to get into this right now. She needed to chew the girl out, not explain the principles of lifelong bonding rituals.

“Didn’t Jace or Alec ever say?”

“Well,” Clary started to fidget, which Charlie found annoying. “He did once, but it was really vague   
stuff, and after that their bond became a bit… strained.”

Charlie sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m not surprised. It’s difficult to explain without just translating the oath. Everyone just learns this stuff as a kid, no need to ever explain. Anyway don’t you basically have one already?”

“Simon?”

“The vamp. Isabelle mentioned him in her letter. Which was like a novel by the way.”

Clary smiled a little. “I did compare us to Alec and Jace once, but it honestly it just seemed to piss him off. He said something about ‘a bond no mundane could comprehend’, whatever that means.”

“It means exactly that. Some bonds are stronger than others are, but simple mundane friendship is worlds away from a parabatai bond. You’d die or kill for them. You defend them against anything. You go where they go, you never abandon them. When they die...” She trailed off, not wanting to think about how it might feel to have your parabatai die.

“I don’t mean to be insensitive or anything… but what’s the point? I mean can’t you just remain friends without the bond? Seems like it would be less painful that way.”

Charlie gripped her staff tightly, anger curling up in her stomach. “Why do people get married when they could just remain a couple their whole lives? It’s easier to break up than to get a divorce, right? It’s to officiate their bond. It’s to have that guarantee that no matter what you are never going to be alone, that you’re always going to have someone fighting your corner. So that you know that you can be there to protect them when they need you, to make sure that they’re not alone. Everyone has his or her own reasons for getting the bond.

Take Jace and Alec. When they first met it was the first time Jace had met someone his own age. He was his first friend and he’ll be his last. Alec’s been pulling Jace back from both literal and metaphorical edges for years, and he doesn’t even see it as a burden. They balance each other out, too. Alec reels Jace in, Jace pulls Alec out. They just get each other. They’d probably explain it differently themselves, but that’s what I know. It’s why Alec is taking Jace’s leaving so hard. He knows that Jace is hurting, but there’s nothing he can do about it. It’s killing him. Jace feels that all he has in the world is Alec. I would not want to be the person responsible if anything happened to him.”

Clary was staring at her, looking a little hurt. “Jace feels that Alec is all he has?”

“Seriously, that’s all you took from that?” 

“I mean; he has other people. The Lightwoods-”

“Maryse has basically disowned him since he disappeared. Alec’s the one who has a proper bond with Jace, and he and Izzy are the only ones in the entire clave still wanting to bring Jace home alive and innocent,” Charlie explained.

“What about my bond with him?” Clary was looking concerned and a bit offended.

“What, you mean your romance turned incest?” Clary flinched, and Charlie couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied. 

“I suppose things were pretty awkward between me and Jace after it all came out,” Clary muttered looking at the floor.

“You want my advice? Keep things on the down low. It’ll be hard, you being Valentine’s daughter after all, but just listen to your superiors, keep your head down and do the work. You don’t need to do any more damage.” Clary looked shocked. “Oh, don’t give me that look. Everything started going wrong when you showed up, and it’s not your fault but that’s how it looks. Trust me, no one has anything nice to say about you back home.”

“I can see why you and Alec are friends, you sound just like him,” Clary bit back.

“Actually I was always closer with Jace. We share the same hard edge covered up with wit. Alec and Tessa are a bit softer underneath.”

“Well, Jace would never let you talk to me that way,” Clary glared at her, defensively.

“Yeah and I bet he never let Alec either. Way I see it Alec had every right to be cautious of you, but every time he voiced it Jace shut him down.” Clary opened her mouth to talk but Charlie just kept going. “I mean you’re irrational, reckless and kind of selfish, to tell you the truth. That is what happened right? You show up and suddenly Jace’s whole world revolves around you. You couldn’t do a thing wrong in his eyes. And Alec couldn’t get a word in edgeways.”

“I-”

“You see, Clary, that’s what it’s like to be a parabatai. When your other half starts choosing some girl over you, starts to fight you about her, will sacrifice everything, no longer for you, but for her, then it hurts. A lot. You can feel the bond breaking, can feel you losing them, but you can’t let that happen, so you will go to any means necessary to keep them safe. Your recklessness and inability to see past you and your mom is what strained the bond, caused that seelie you rescued to be arrested in the first place, meant Izzy went on trial and Alec almost got married because he wanted to protect his family. And Jace is his family. Alec’s my friend and that isn’t your fault Clary, but he’s hurting so much right now because of the choices him and Jace made, all because of you. They were two of the closest parabatai I’ve ever seen, and as soon as you show up they start disagreeing on everything? It isn’t hard to make the link.”

Clary had tears in her eyes, and Charlie conceded, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t mean to be harsh, but I strongly believe that brutal honesty is best. I don’t know you, but I know Alec. I just wanted to make you see that sometimes, even with the best of intentions, selflessness is more selfish than we realise. And that can hurt people. Just in the future, understand that you upsetting the Clave can be negative on other people. So be respectful, do the work, cooperate and we’ll be one step closer to restoring Jace’s innocence and bringing him to home.”

Clary was looking at the ground, tears in her eyes, but she was nodding a little. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

“I know. You’re the only one in the world who knows what it’s like to love Jace like Alec does. And it kind of sucks. But as I said, you’re not bad kid. You just… didn’t know.”

“But I do now,” she looked at Charlie, determination in her eyes. “I’ll make this right, Charlie. I promise.”

Charlie grinned and pulled her into a hug. “I know you will.”

 

***

 

“What did you do?” Tessa asked, suspiciously, when Charlie sat down with her, as she poured over some kind of document.

“You have no faith in me!” Charlie accused.

“I have plenty of faith in you,” Tessa assured her before grinning slyly. “I have plenty if faith that you just chewed out Clary, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t chew her out; I just… told her what she needed to hear.” Tessa rolled her eyes and locked her foot with Charlie’s under the table, a small gesture of affection. “Anyway, where’s Alec?”

“Gym. After spilling his feelings to us, he seemed to need to do something masculine to reaffirm… his masculinity, I suppose. He’s beating up a punching bag,” Tessa explained. “Magnus went to go find him.”

“What do you think of him?” Charlie asked, interested. She wanted to confirm that Magnus was good enough for her best friend.

“He’s awesome,” Tessa said, lighting up. “Seriously, I think he’s great for Alec. He’ll be able to put a lid on his sullen, angst side. What about Clary.”

“She’s sweet, if not annoying. Irrational, reckless. Honestly, she’s probably just naïve. She doesn’t know this world, and she doesn’t know how it’s different to the one she grew up in.”

“She’ll learn. She just has to learn from her mistakes and move on,” Tessa said, fairly.

Charlie shook her head. “But that might just be the problem. She doesn’t learn, and will do anything to achieve her goals, because she believes her intentions are always the right ones. That’s called arrogance and it’s dangerous.”

“Are you forgetting whose daughter she is?”

“Mine?” Both girls jumped and swung round to see Jocelyn Fairchild staring at them, arms crossed.

“Why does that keep happening?” Tessa hissed at Charlie. “This chair free?” Jocelyn had pulled out the chair they were saving for Alec. Not waiting for an answer, she sat down in it and gave the girls a poignant look. “I was wondering if I could ask you something about Clary.”

“We don’t really know her,” Tessa said, quickly. “We only met her today.”

“But you already seem to have such a high opinion,” Jocelyn pointed out.

Tessa and Charlie looked at each other for a second. Charlie gave a tiny shrug. Tessa’s eyes widened slightly. Charlie raised an eyebrow. Tessa sighed. 

Charlie grinned and turned back to the other woman, who was watching them with a bit of a smirk. “We’re friends of the Lightwoods. What we know about her is what we’ve heard from them. They seem to be pretty impacted by some of her decisions.”

Tessa kicked her under the table and gave her an incredulous look. Insensitive much?

Jocelyn frowned a little. “I just want to know how she’s coped with all this. From what Maryse tells me she’s been a bit… controversial.”

“Reckless. Irrational. Stubborn and not in the cute way.” Tessa groaned and buried her face in her hands at Charlie’s reply. 

“It’s OK,” Jocelyn assured her. “I want the truth.”

Tessa looked at Charlie nervously before saying, “Honestly, she’s just naïve. She doesn’t know this world. And sometimes that leads her to make… uninformed decisions.”

“That put the lives of the people around her at risk,” Charlie finished.

Jocelyn sighed. “I was worried about this. She’s always been a bit thoughtless. Ready to do anything to save the people she loves, without thinking that her actions could just cause them even more harm.”

“Yeah,” Tessa said quietly. “That basically sums up what we’ve heard.”

Jocelyn nodded a little, thinking. Then, “you two know Jace right.”

Charlie bit her lip, a little more hesitant now the conversation had turned to Jocelyn’s missing, previously thought deceased, son she had never even properly met.

Tessa nodded. “Yeah, we know him. Charlie’s known him since he was adopted.”

“No one around here seems to want to talk about him… but what’s he like?” Tessa and Charlie both swallowed at the weight of the question.

“Selfless. He’d do anything to save the people he loves. Dutiful. He’s hard-edged. Won’t let his emotions rule him. He’s seen as arrogant and disdainful, but really? He has a good moral core. Valentine just led him astray,” Tessa explained, hesitantly placing her hand on Jocelyn’s. “He went with Valentine to save the lives of those he loves most. But he has little faith in himself; he doesn’t believe there’s anything good in him. If he’s with Valentine for too long than her could truly turn against us.”

“Which is why finding him is our top priority,” Charlie added. “Jace is one of our best fighters. I dread to think what may happen if he stopped fighting with us, and stated fighting against us.”

Jocelyn sighed sadly. “I’m sorry,” Tessa said, genuinely. “But Jace is strong. He can take anything Valentine will throw at him. And hopefully his bonds with us will help him stay on the straight.”

 

***

 

“Can you for once, just not be so difficult?” Tessa complained, as they made it back to the room they were staying in.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Charlie grinned smugly.

Tessa glared at her, opening the door, but not taking the conversation any further. She already knew that it was no good, to try to wrangle Charlie into being something she’s not. Logic and rationality, can lead to pessimism and cynicism, which can lead to insensitivity and sarcasm, which can come across as bitchy. But Tessa knew there was no point in trying to talk to her about it. She wouldn’t change, not for anyone. Maybe for Tessa, maybe if it directly implicated her. But not for anyone else.

“Anyway,” she continued. “Any ideas?”

“On Valentine and the Mortal Cup? None. You?”

“Nothing,” Charlie sighed and sat on her bed, leaning back on her hands. “Alec?”

“Nothing other than ‘Get Jace Back’ –”

“Which leads directly back to point number one, Valentine and the cup. That damn cup.”

Tessa sat on her own bed. “We should get some sleep. The others will have a plan, and apparently someone from the clave is coming.”

“Well, that just fills me with joy,” Charlie muttered, tilting her head back. “They’ll want to know why we’re here.”

“We’ll just tell them the truth,” Tessa assured her.

“That we’re here to check out Alec’s boyfriend? Yeah, they’ll love that…”

“That we’re here to help out in any way we can. That we care about stopping Valentine, and we thought that they could use any help they can get in the main base of operations.”

“They’ll know we’re close to the Lightwoods. They won’t like it if this is a personal matter.”

“Then we’ll assure them it’s not. We’re not doing anything wrong.”

Charlie sighed again, tapping her fingers against the bed sheet. “I don’t like this.”

“Says the girl who just made Clary Fairchild cry, and then threw her under the bus with her mom,” Tessa pointed out.

“That was different; it wasn’t like I was going to get into trouble for that.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

**Author's Note:**

> Series and work title from This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars


End file.
